Cannon



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. J. BLOOD.

\ (No Model.)

CANNON.

Patented Dec. 13

2 SheetsSheet 2. E. J. BLOOD.

(No Model.)

CANNON.

5 Patented Dec. 13, 1887.

WK 75555.9 I

* UNITED STATES PATENT? OF C EDWIN BLOOD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CANNON.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 374,577, dated December 13, 1887, Applieationfiled March 29, 1887. Serial No. 232,828. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN J. BLOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,

' a longitudinal section of acannon constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2, a crosssection taken in line w w of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a perspective view of one of the disks or plates used in the construction of my cannon; Fig. 4, a plan view of the tube or sleeve covering the inner barrel of the cannon; Fig. 5, a cross-section taken in line at w, and Fig. 6 a cross-section taken in line 3 1 showing the difference in thickness of the metal forming the sleeve at its respective ends; Fig. 7, a cross-section showing air-holes in the sleeve to preventits becoming overheated; Fig. 8, a plan view of the cannon, with some parts shownin section;

and Fig. 9, a cross-section taken in line z z of Fig. 8.

A designates the disks or plates from which the cannon is formed; B, the end plates, and b air-holes therein; 0, the rods extending through holes in the disks and end plates to secure and hold the same together; D, the sleeve surrounding the inner barrel, and d airholes therein; E, the inner barrel or tube forming the bore of the cannon; F, a nutor screw on theinner barrel to tighten or key the parts; j, a groove, and f an air-hole therein; G, a' ring encircling the body of the'cannon in front of the large disks, and which also serves as anlend plate for the short securing-rods; H, anadjustable ring or jacket .encircling the body of theeannon and provided with trunnions to supp rt it on the carriage, and I arms or side bars extending from the trunnions to,

the ends of the cannon to more the disks together.

rigidly hold.

In the construction ofmyimproved cannon or rolled steel, which are of course of suitable size to form the cannon when put together. The thickness of these disks willvary some-- what, according to the size of the gun for which they are intended; but I prefer to have them from about one-eighth to about one-fourth of an inch thick, although they maybe made much thicker. those intended to be back of the bore, is pierced in its center, so as to form a hole of proper diameter, so that when they are put together these holes will answer for the bore of the cannon, or as a receptacle for the tube forming the bore.

ter or bore, so that when placed side by side there are, as it were, continuous holes. from one end of the cannon to the other, adapted to receive the retainingrods 0 to hold the disks together. by these disks may be of any form or pattern desired, and of coursetheir outside diameter will be regulated somewhat bythe kind or size of gun for which they are intended.

I use thin plates or disks, preferably of cast Each of these disks, except The outside surface formed 5 In my preferred form they are also pierced at points away from the cen- When the center holes themselves are used to form the bore of the-cannon, it will probably be found advisable tobraze the disks -together, so as to make them solid or in one body; but even in this case the cannon will be constructed on whatI consider an entirely new principle-that is, formed from thin layers or plates of metal,which can of course be made and handled separately until brazeditogetherfor' final use. rods canbe used even-when thedisks are thus brazed together, and to use them. I

When it is desired to have the bore formed by the insertion of a tube orinner barrel-and If desired, the retaining-'- in such case I-prefer so 5 somewhat shorter than the tube or inner barrel, and is preferably of uniform diameteron its outersurface and of a slightly'varying'or taperingdiameter: on its inner surface; this tapering variation heingeaused by the differ ICO also preferably slotted throughout its entire length, so as to permit of thcvery slight yieldug or expansion necessary when the tube is inserted, so as to wedge or key it against the 5 sides of the continuous central hole formed in the disks. When so desired, this sleeve may also have openings or air holes extending through it lengthwise to prevent it or the cannon from becoming overheated.

The tube or inner barrel is preferably formed of soft stccl;-but it may be made of any other suitable metal. Its outside diameter is of course adapted to the inside diameter of the sleeve in which it is to be inserted, and is tapered correspondingly. It is made long enough to extend substantially from one end of the cannon to the other-that is, from the outer surface of the front-end plate to the inner surface of the breech-end plate-and its 2 bore is of the size and length desired for the bore of the cannon proper. Its muzzle end is preferably threaded, so that when inserted a,

suitable nut may be screwed thereon to securely key or hold it in its proper position. Its end nearest the breech-plate is provided with a suitable hole or opening for the breechpin, which is inserted from the muzzle end, and, passing baelnextends through the breech- .plate, and is secured and held in' position bya 3o nut or other suitablemeans. Thisbreeeh-pin of course has suitable shoulders to press tightly against the bottom'of the bore. This tube or inner barrel,thus constructed, inserted, and secured, forms the bore of the cannon when constructed without brazing the disks together;

or, when desired, it may be used even when" this brazing of the disks is employed.

I prefer to construct the nut used on .the muzzle end of the inner tube or barrel in such 0 a way that it will have a shoulder adapted to fit into a recess in the muzzle end plate, so that its inner surface will strike and press against the end of the sleeve, thus causing the sleeve to be pressed and wedged in by the tightening 5 of the nut in such a way as will re-enforce the inner tube by all the strength of the outer disks. It will thus be seen that forcing the sleeve in by this turning or tightening of the nut operates to accomplish the object now attained by the shrinking of rings on. ordinary cast guns. I also prefer to provide the inner surface of the nut with a groove to pass over or partially over the end of the sleeve, and to make an air-hole in the nut which, by means of such groove, will connect with the air-holes in the sleeve.

When it is desired to have the disks of different outside sizes or diameters, they may be made so as to taper from the breech to the ho muzzle, or those to be used at the breech end ofthe cannon may be made larger than those to be used at the muzzle end, and Iprefer this latter construction. In such case it will generally be found convenient to have a ring encircle the body of the cannon in front of the large disks, which may also serve as an end plate for the short securing rods inserted through the large disks near the outside surface formed by putting them together where such rods are used.

An adjustable jacket may encircle the body of the cannon, and, being provided with-trunnions, operate to support it on its carriage. I prefer to construct this ring or jacket in two parts, so that the inside diameter of each will form a semicircle and the two together he sufficient to encircle the entire body of the gun. These two parts may be properly fitted over the cannon and then secured together by bolts, nuts, and screws, or any other suitable way. When so desired, this adjustable jacket may be provided with projections at or near its trunnions to receive the ends of side bars or arms, which may-extend therefrom to either end of the cannon and be used to more rigidly secure the disks together. These side bars may be secured at the ends of the cannon in any convenient way; but I prefer to secure the ones at the muzzle end by having them hooked into holes in the end plates and the ones at the breech by means of a ring provided with notches, into which the ends of the bars are hooked, this ring being of suitable size to fit over the nut securing the breech-pin and still be between the nuts on the ends of the rods holding the disks together. The ends of the arms or side bars passing through the projections on or near the trunnions may be threaded, so as to be secured or tightened by suitable nuts.

Some of the advantages of my invention are, that it enables heavy guns to be constructed with all the advantages of great weight, but

'without the disadvantages thereof, the same being made and mounted in sections and in very short time; that it enables the builder to detect and reject impure or weak metal and to avoid the initial strain due to the impossibility of cooling a great mass of metal equally rapid in all its parts; that it dispenses with the use of ponderousimplements now necessary in the casting and handling of guns of great weight; that it enables a correct estimate of the strength of the gun to be made while it is being built, or after it is finished, without the necessity of hydraulic or other tests; that it enables a large gun to be made as cheap per pound as a small one; and, generall y, that it enables the gun to be taken apart and put together at pleasure, thus greatly facilitating its transportation for use or other purposes.

The essence of my invention being the construction of a cannon from readily-detachable plates or layers of metal, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to special forms or details of construction; and therefore the special means described for securing the parts together or aiding in their operation are not to be understood as indispensable to my construction, but most of them may be used or omitted at pleasure.

I amaware that cannons have been heretofore constructed of a series of thin tubes, one

within another, and of course having the seams between the different tubes extending lengthwise of the barrel; but in practice the parts of a cannon of this construction are not detachable, and, without regard to other.

points, my invention differs therefrom in that my layers or plates of metal are so made and placed together as to cause the seams between them to extend crosswise of the barrel, or substantially at right angles to the bore of the gun.

I claim- 1. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, an inner tube or barrel, and a surrounding sleeve slotted and having air-holes extending lengthwise therein, substantially as described.

2. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, an inner tube or barrel, and a slotted sleeve surrounding the inner tube or barrel, substantially as described.

3. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, an inner tube or barrel threaded at its muzzle end, and a nut on such muzzle or threaded end circumferentially grooved at its inner surface and having an air hole or opening, substantially as described.

4. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, an inner tube or barrel tapering on its outside surface, a sleeve surrounding the inner tube or barrel oppositely tapering on its inside surface, and a nut on the outer end of the tube or barrel fitting and pressing against the end of the sleeve, substantially as described.

5. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, and an adjustable jacket encircling the body of the cannon and provided with trunnions, substantially as described. 7

6. A cannon comprising layers or platesof metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, an adjustable jacket encircling the body of the cannon having projections, and side bars or arms extending from such projections to theends of the cannon and secured at such ends, substantially as described.

7. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers or plates of metal together, an adjustable jacket provided with trunnions and projections, and adjustable side bars or arms extending from such projections to the ends of the cannon and secured at such ends by being.

hooked into notches or holes, substantially as described.

8. A cannon comprising layers or plates of metal, end plates, rods for securing the layers and end plates together, a lining barrel or tube having a shoulder on its inner surface near its rear end, and a breech-pin extending back of the rear end of the lining-tube and having a shoulder near its forward end to engage with the shoulder of the lining-tube, and means for tightening or pressing such shoulders against each other, substantially as described.

9: In a cannon, a removable lining-tube tapering on its outer surface and having at 75 least one of its ends provided with means for keying it firmly in position, and a surrounding slotted sleeve oppositely tapering on its inner surface, substantially as described.

EDVIN J. 'BLOOD. 

